1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a hand tool especially suited for use in facilitating the servicing of lawn mowers and, more particularly, to a lawn mower blade lock uniquely adapted to both lock a lawn mower blade relative to a mower deck and to lift one side of the mower off the ground once secured to the deck. The lock hereof is of simple, yet highly effective construction which is both economical to manufacture and convenient to use. The invention hereof is concerned with a lock having a handle for both removably securing the lock relative to the mower deck and for lifting one side of the mower off the ground, and spaced barriers adapted to receive a conventional rotary lawn mower blade therebetween.
2. Description of the Prior Art
One of the annual rites of spring is the removal of a homeowner's conventional walk-behind powered rotary mower from storage and preparing it for the grass-cutting season. This process typically involves removal and sharpening of the rotary lawn mower blade. Unfortunately, the blade is mounted on the shaft of the lawn mower engine on the underside of the mower. This necessitates lifting one side of the mower off the ground to gain access to the blade.
The blade is conventionally mounted beneath a circular lawn mower deck and is usually tightly secured against rotation by a bolt to which considerable torque must be applied to remove it. This typically results in the user grappling with the mower in an effort to hold the mower tilted upright, retain the blade in place and apply torque to the securing bolt by a wrench or the like. Because when the mower is raised to a position to gain access to the blade it is often resting on two wheels, the mower is inherently unstable and has a tendency to tip to one side or the other during the removal process. All of this results in an extremely frustrating and difficult process simply because of the necessity of attempting to balance the mower while preventing the blade from rotating.
Furthermore, small children may be fascinated with a power mower which they have seen their parents operate. Such mowers are often provided with "easy-to-start" or power starting features In such circumstances, the child may gain access to the mower and cause it to start, whereby the blade will rotate presenting a dangerous situation for an unwary or inquisitive child.
The necessity of fixing the blade during removal has been previously recognized. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,564,991 to Taylor, a tool has been provided for attachment to a lawn mower blade which permits the user to gain greater leverage during removal of an overly tightened or rusted nut. In U.S. Pat. No. 3,826,159 to Otto, a lawn mower blade sharpener is disclosed which is adapted for grasping a lawn mower blade during sharpening. Finally, in U.S. Pat. No. 2,976,602, an abraiding tool handle is shown in use on a lawn mower deck which has been chocked against the mower deck as shown in FIG. 2.
While these devices serve to attach and hold the blade, they do not adequately address the problem of holding the mower deck while constraining the rotary blade. Further, they do not enable the user to lift the mower deck into position by simply attaching the lock to the mower deck, but require the mower deck to be already tilted into position prior to attachment to the blade. Finally, these prior blade holding devices do not provide an easy and convenient means of locking a blade in position when the mower is unattended.